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Occupy Wall Street: a Movement in the Making

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Occupy Wall Street: a Movement in the Making Trinity College Trinity College Digital Repository Senior Theses and Projects Student Scholarship Spring 5-20-2012 Occupy Wall Street: A Movement in the Making Hannah G. Kaneck Trinity College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses Part of the American Politics Commons, Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Economic Policy Commons, Education Policy Commons, Energy Policy Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, International Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Organizations Law Commons, Political Economy Commons, and the Social Policy Commons Recommended Citation Kaneck, Hannah G., "Occupy Wall Street: A Movement in the Making". Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 2012. Trinity College Digital Repository, https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/245 Occupy Wall Street: a movement in the making Hannah Kaneck Spring 2012 1 Dedicated to my grandmother Jane Armstrong Special thanks to my parents Karrie and Mike Kaneck, my readers Stephen Valocchi and Sonia Cardenas, the Trinity College Human Rights Program, and to my siblings at Cleo of Alpha Chi 2 Table of Contents Timeline leading up to September 17, 2011 Occupation of Wall Street…………………….……………….4 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………….….……..6 Where did they come from?...........................................................................................................7 New York, NY: A History of Occupation……………………………………………………………………………………..8 Talking Shop and Jamming Hard: Adbusters roots…………………………………………………………………..11 Inspiration is Just around the Corner: Bloombergville……………………………………………………………..16 The Devil’s in the Details: Organizing through Direct Democracy………….……………………………......17 The Occupation…………..…………………………………………………………………………….…………………………….18 Human Rights as Guiding Lights…………………………………………………………………….…………………………20 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Article 13: The right to education…………………………………………………………………….………………………24 Article 11: Adequate standard of living………………………………………………………………….…………………28 Article 12: Highest attainable standard of physical and mental health…………………….………………32 Article 15: Right to partake in culture and share in humanity’s progress…………………….……………33 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Articles 18 & 19: The freedom to thought, conscience, opinion, and expression……………………..35 Since November 15, 2011 Raid on Zuccotti Park……………………………………………………………….……..36 Struggles with Identity A Middle Class Movement…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…38 Where are the 99% going?...........................................................................................................42 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……47 3 Timeline leading up to September 17, 2011 Occupation of Wall Street: Winter 1932: Hooverville shantytown is erected to house excessive numbers of homeless in New York City during the Great Depression June 16, 1962: The Port Huron Statement is completed by the Students for a Democratic Society August 17, 1993: the last standing shantytown in New York City, ‘the Hill’, is deemed a fire hazard and is demolished November 30, 1999: The anti-WTO protests in Seattle overshadow negotiations of the World Trade Organization in an anti-globalization street protest fighting economic globalization on scale never seen before. May 5, 2010: A nationwide strike halted transportation and most services throughout Greece in protest of the austerity measures proposed in exchange for a national economic bail out November 10, 2010: British students protest in opposition to proposed spending cuts in education and an increase of the cap on tuition fees for several months throughout Great Britain January 25, 2011: Approximately 50,000 protestors occupy Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt in protest of lost democracy February, 2011: Walkerville Protests begin in Madison, WI against public service budget cuts throughout the state May 15, 2011: The Indignants movement leads somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 Spaniards to meet at the Plaza de Cibeles and march to Puerta del Sol in Madrid in protest against austerity May 31, 2011: Cuomoville is built in a churchyard in Chelsea, Manhattan, NY to fight expiration and non-renewal of rent regulation legislation June 9, 2011: Kalle Lasn and Micah White agree on the title and register the domain Occupywallstreet.org June 14, 2011: Bloombergville is erected near City Hall as an anti-austerity movement, in conjunction with the New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts, fighting Mayor Bloomberg’s budget proposal to cut jobs throughout the city June 16, 2011: First General Assembly held at Bloombergville 4 July 13, 2011: Call by Anonymous Adman at Adbusters to #OCCUPYWALLSTREET via meme that went viral through an email list, blog post, and reddit; Justine Tunney registers Occupywallst.org July 26, 2011: Invitation by Isham Christie to OWS online supporters to meet at the Bull on August 2, 2011 for a General Assembly originally organized by Bloombergville- New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts to discuss fighting austerity and plan the occupation on September 17, 2011 (S17) August 2, 2011: First GA at the Charging Bull statue at Bowling Green Park near Wall Street to organize OWS, working groups, and general rules for further planning and GA’s, horizontal decision making established as standard moving forward August 9, 2011: Second GA to plan OWS at the Irish Potato Famine Memorial August 11, 2011: Outreach update for OWS by Adbusters, mention of multi-city occupation August 13, 2011: Third GA to plan OWS at Tompkins Square Park August 23, 2011: Another post by Adbusters using language from tactical meetings, encouraging everyone to stay peaceful in protesting and to never condone violence August 27, 2011: GA cancelled due to Hurricane Irene! August 29, 2011: Announcement of the “The 99% Project,” an online blog where individuals from anywhere can post their picture and a statement of what they are personally facing to call attention to the human costs of the current political and economic system September 1, 2011: Nine protestors arrested on Wall Street while peacefully and legally occupying the public sidewalk in preparation for S17 September 3, 2011: Fourth GA to plan OWS at Tompkins Square Park September 5, 2011: A Tactical Plan on how to hold a legal nonviolent protest in New York City, by the group US Day of Rage, goes viral on the OWS blog September 15, 2011: Occupy Wall Street Orientation Guide outlines important issues for protestors and goes viral for everyone to read in preparation for S17 September 16, 2011: OWS Help and Directions Call Center opens for inquiries September 17, 2011: March on Wall Street- Beginning of OWS 5 Introduction It has changed the landscape of America in just the last eight months. Cries of “We are the 99%” fill the air. People are angry. Many will argue for years to come what the occupation has actually done for American society, politics and culture. It is clear though that things are changing. A precipice has been reached and it does not seem that those truly devoted to changing the system will back away quietly. Over the last 28 weeks I have read countless articles and interviews of occupiers from all over the world who have converged on Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, New York since September 2011. Reading these articles has not only enlightened my view of social movements and the power of protest in the name of human rights, but it has restored my faith in the promise of American democracy. While there are mountains left to climb before any of us will ever be satisfied, the people of Occupy Wall Street and all the Occupations of the world are fighting. They are fighting hard. The reverberations of change have sat stagnant in the air for a while. Whether it was the turn of the century, the predictions of social apocalypse, the recession or the obvious decline of great cities such as Detroit and New Orleans it is clear that the state of our state is declining. This is a pivotal moment in the history of social justice and change. The Occupy Wall Street phenomenon, some may argue will never be a movement. They are wrong. In the following essay I attempt to answer three major questions. What is Occupy Wall Street? Where did it come from? And where is it going? The movement is still young and seems to have much more staying power than was predicted in the first few months of the occupation. Occupy has excited generations of complacent peoples to action. Much of the popularity of Occupy stems from its mysterious roots. There is a long and vital history of 6 activism and social justice in America, one worth taking a look at in conjunction with Occupy Wall Street. Its organization, philosophy, and tactics represent a greater system of rights claiming. The popularity of Occupy Wall Street has brought rights language and assertion into homes and to forums where they were never discussed before through economic inequality. Sure, like any movement, Occupy has its “issues”. These issues are not new or unique to Occupy, but our reaction to these issues and struggles will shed light on what this movement can mean moving forward. Understanding what Occupy is and all the possible routes it could take from here will lead to choices. Where, when and by whom these choices will be made is still unclear. This is an unfinished story. Where did they come from?
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